Tomato and Basil Focaccia – Daring Bakers Challenge

Since we have had our Chromecast, I am even more addicted to YouTube videos than I was before.  Queuing up and watching video after video is how I spend far too much time in my day (I just convince myself, and the hubby, that I am doing “research” for the blog).

Recently on the What to Watch page, a video appeared from Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube with Gennaro Contaldo which was perfectly timed given the current Daring Bakers Challenge.  So using Gennaro’s version of the recipe from the video, I decided to make Tomato and Basil Focaccia.

For the month of April, Rachael of pizzarossa and Sawsan of Chef in Disguise took us on a trip to Italy. They challenged us to try our hands at making focaccia from scratch.

Like many things, focaccia has been on “the list” for a while and after watching the video it seemed simple enough so it was a good time to finally give it a go.  For the bread itself, all you need is flour, warm water, yeast, olive oil and salt.

Add the yeast to the warm water to activate it.  Make sure that your water is not too hot otherwise it will kill the yeast.  Leave it aside to foam up.

In a large bowl, add the flour, olive oil and salt.

Once the yeast is nice and foamy, add this to the flour and start to mix it together with a spoon.  After it has mostly come together, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for around 10 minutes.

What you should end up with is a nice and smooth, elastic dough.  There is probably nothing stopping you from making this in your stand mixer with the dough hook, and generally that is what I do because I am pretty average at kneading, but if I can do it, so can you!

Set this aside in a warm spot for at least 40 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.  Given it is getting much cooler in my neck of the woods, I used the “raise dough” function on my oven which worked quite nicely.

When the dough has risen, sprinkle some polenta into your tray, or use olive oil or baking paper, and gently transfer and shape the dough in your tray.  Drizzle a little more olive oil on the top and then press lots of holes into the dough using your fingertips.

Now it is time for your topping.  There are LOTS of different ingredients you can use to top your focaccia and a quick search of the interweb will yield you plenty of options if you are stuck for ideas.  As mentioned before, I decided to follow Gennaro’s lead and use the classic combination of tomato and basil.

I really do love basil, with pesto pasta being one of my all time favourite dishes, and I used it in combination with some grape tomatoes which could be substituted with any other small tomato really.  Cut the tomatoes in half, if desired, and then pair them with a basil leaf and push them into the dough.  For really large basil leaves, I just tore them in half, but you could just fold it over to keep it neat and tidy.

Once you have finished, set the dough aside again for another 40 minutes to double in size.

Now the dough is light and airy, bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 20-25 minutes.  Once cooked, drizzle with a little more olive oil and then allow to cool.

Although my dough did rise nicely, I didn’t manage to achieve the obvious air bubbles once cooked.  However, it did still taste pretty nice and that’s all that matters right?

I really did enjoy this months challenge and will be giving this a go another time with a different topping.  Do you have any suggestions?  If so, please leave a comment down below so I can try them out.

Print Recipe

Tomato and Basil Focaccia

Adapted from Jamie Oliver

Course

Bread

Servings

serves

Ingredients

• 325 ml warm water
• 7 g dried yeast (1 sachet)
• 500 g plain/all-purpose flour
• olive oil
• salt
• 1/2 bunch basil
• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes

Course Bread Servings serves Ingredients 325 ml warm water 7 g dried yeast (1 sachet) 500 g plain/all-purpose flour olive oil salt 1/2 bunch basil 1 punnet cherry tomatoes

Instructions

1. Stir the yeast into the warm water and set aside to activate the yeast.
2. Add the flour, salt and a drizzle of olive oil (approximately 1-2 tbsp) to a large mixing bowl.
3. Once the yeast has foamed up, add to the flour and mix with a spoon until it is mostly combined.
4. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
5. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to prove for 40 minutes or until double in size.
6. In your baking tray, sprinkle the base with polenta or drizzle with olive oil. Carefully transfer and shape the dough to fit the tray. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top and then with your fingertips, poke lots of holes into the top of the dough.
7. If desired, cut your tomatoes in half.
8. Place half of a tomato into a basil leaf and press into the dough. Repeat until you have covered the top of your dough.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to prove for 40 minutes or until double in size.
10. Preheat the oven to 200°C and then bake the focaccia for 20-25 minutes.
11. Remove the focaccia from the oven, drizzle with olive oil and allow to cool before eating.